Sue’s Muse

Autumn has been glorious for many reasons. Unseasonably warm days have made bike riding a pleasure, though the wind has been a challenge. Lately, the evening sunsets have lightly brushed the clouds a delicate shade of red, before lighting up the skies with glorious color.

It is also that time of year for seasonal doctor visits. Gilbert is often a conversation starter, as Lu waits in a crowded room for his name to be called. On one visit, sorting through his appointment papers, Lu dropped one. “Pick it up, Gilbert,” Lu instructed. Gilbert bent down and retrieved the sheet off of the floor in his mouth, attracting comments from those nearby.

One woman exclaimed, “Look at what the dog did!”

We take this skill for granted, as Gilbert can pick up a credit card off the floor.

Gilbert gets a friendly look on his face, tail wagging, if another dog lover asks to pet him. On this day, a woman proudly showed Lu a picture of her service dog. He was a mix between a boxer and a mastiff and was a fine looking animal. She was training him to be a therapy dog for residents of local nursing homes to help with loneliness and social skills. After all, who doesn’t feel better after petting a dog?

Gilbert then jumped up on the chair next to Lu and fell so soundly asleep, they had trouble waking him when it was time to see the doctor. Guess doctor visits are not just exhausting for humans! After all of this sitting, Gilbert usually needs a good walk.

The pair just came in from their nightly excursion outside. As Lu was pulling off his outdoor shoes, Gilbert appeared in front of him, with first one of his crocs dangling from his mouth, and then a second one. This skill always tickles my funny bone, as it is a comical site to see.

Just when we think Gilbert is slowing down, he gets a wild hair. The other night Lu was in the family room, when Gilbert jumped up and started chasing around the room in circles, first one way and then another, finally running around the room. He did this dance for several minutes. After all the doctor visits, it was as if Gilbert thought we needed a few hijinks to amuse us, and they certainly did.

Gilbert, Lu and I hope you will have a few joyous moments of wild abandon this Christmas season as well!